Lubricating device



1935. L.'L. MARKEL LUBRICATING DEVICE Filed Oct. 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JAATTORNEY Sept. M, 1935- L. MARKEL LUBRICATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTORJ Filed 001;. 29, 1932 ,&,JATTORNEYs Patented Sept. 17, 1935 hi1" QFFIE LUBRICATING DEVICE Application October 29, 1932, Serial No. 640,287

8 Claims.

My invention relates to lubricating devices for association with a railway track and has for its principal object to provide automatic means for efficiently and effectively supplying lubricant to track rails.

During the passage of a train around a curve excessive friction occurs between the rails and the flanges of the wheels of railway cars and engines which results in rapid wear of the rails and Wheel flanges. To reduce this friction and thereby prolong the life of car wheels and of rails at curves, my invention is primarily adapted to be associated with the rail of the track which forms the outside of the curve and preferably at a point on the rail within the limits so that the lubricant supplied to the rail will be picked up by the wheel flanges and distributed along the flange side of the rail head.

A principal feature of the invention consists 20 in providing means for supplying a lubricant from a reservoir to the part to be lubricated which includes a pivoted lever adapted to be operatively connected to a rail of the track so as to be actuated thereby upon vertical movement of the rail induced by passagelof a railway vehicle over the track.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a pivotally mounted lever for operating a pump mechanism to supply lubricant to the part to be oiled, the lever being pivotally mounted between its ends to provide arms of unequal length and one of the arms being operatively connected to one of the rails of the track so as to be actuated thereby upon deflection or the rail caused by passage of a railway vehicle over the track.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a pump mechanism operable by deflection of a rail of a railway track for supplying 40 lubricant to the rail, the mechanism including a piston and a member for operating the piston, said member being adapted to displace the piston a maximum distance upon a predetermined minimum deflection of the rail and being inoperable to cause further displacement of the piston upon deflection of the rail beyond the predetermined minimum.

A further feature of the invention consists in providing the lubricating device with means for returning to the reservoir oil delivered to the rail iniexcess of the desired quantity.

Other and more specific features of the invention residing in advantageous forms, combina tions and relations of parts will hereinafter ap- 55 pear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the lubricating device as associated with a rail of a railway track, the View being taken on line Ifl, 5 Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of the lubricating device and adjacent parts of the railway track, the cover for the device being omitted.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken 10 on line 33, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken on line 4 Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

5 indicates the outside rail of a railway track 15 and 2 the cross-ties. Rigidly secured to the inner side of the rail is a lubricant discharge plate or member 3 having a plurality of preferably vertical passageways or ducts t. Although the plate may be secured to the rail in any suitable manner this may be advantageously accomplished by bolts 5 which extend through the web of the rail. The bottom of the distributing plate may, if desired, be fashioned to conform to a portion of the rail base so that it may rest thereupon and the upper portion of the plate may be notched as indicated at t, to receive the lower corner of the rail head. The top of the plate 3 is, however, intended to be disposed sufliciently below the top of the rail head so as not to interfere with the 39 passage of wheels along the rail. At their upper ends the passages or ducts 4 preferably incline toward and terminate closely adjacent the flange or inner side or" the rail head so that lubricant passing through them will discharge directly against the latter.

Communicating with each of the passageways i is a pipe or conduit 5 which leads to a pump mechanism ii having a plurality of separate pump units, one for each pipe, Each of the pump units 40 includes a cylinder 9, a piston it and a passageway i l communicating with the lower end of the cylinder. Each passageway H is formed with two ports, 52 which are normally closed by spring pressed valves i i and !5, respectively. The pipes 1 respectively lead into the ports 52 and the valves id disposed in the latter function as check valves preventing lubricant delivered to the pipes from returning to the pump. The valves 55 function as safety or relief valves permitting lubricant, in the event it will not flow thrcugh pipes l and passageways t, to escape from the units through ports i3 and outlet openings 5'5 with which the latter are formed.

' It is preferred to dispose the pump mechanism in a container H which serves as a reservoir for the lubricant to be supplied to the rail. With this arrangement is is unnecessary to provide pipes for conveying lubricant from the reservoir to the pump mechanism and this may be accomplished by merely providing the cylinder of each pump with an inlet opening i3. Each opening I 8 is preferably formed in the pump cylinder at a point just below the position occupied by the lower end of the piston it when the latter is in its uppermost position. The lubricant reservoir is conveniently disposed intermediate the rails of the track and it may be supported by a pair of substantially U-shaped hangers is rigidly secured to spaced beams 26 and 2! extending longitudinally of the rails and carried on the cross-ties.

The pump operating mechanism includes a lever 22 which is pivotally mounted between its ends so as to provide arms 23 and 24, respectively, of unequal length. The lever is preferably pivotally connected to a bracket 25 which may be secured to the underside of beam 2% and formed with downwardly depending lugs 26 between which the lever is disposed and to which it is pivotally connected by a pin 21. The major portions of arms 23 and 24 of the lever are of set with respect to each other so that the short arm 23 may extend beneath the rail i and the long arm 2:: above the lubricant reservoir ii. The outer end portion of the short arm 23 is adapted to cooperate with the rail 5 and it is preferably provided with an adjustable screw 28 adapted to engage the underside of the base of the rail. Jamb nuts 29 may be conveniently provided for holding the screw 28 in any desired position of adjustment.

As is well known, when an engine or car wheel passes over the track, the rails thereof are depressed or slightly deflected due to the bending of the rails themselves and to settling of the cross-ties in the road bed, the latter being usually formed of rock ballast. It will, therefore, be appreciated that since the outer end of lever 22 is in engagement with the rail i, the lever will be caused to rotate about its pivot pin 2? when the rail is depressed by the passage of a railway vehicle over the track. To prevent the bracket 25 to which the lever is pivoted from moving downwardly at the same time the ties and'the portion of the rails adjacent thereto move down wardlj, the beam 20 to which the bracket is attached is spaced above the ties adjacent lever by members 30 which are interposed be tween the end portions of beams 28 and iii. and cross-ties which are disposed at a relatively great distance from the lever.

The long arm 24 of the lever is connected to suitable means for operating the pump mechanism. This means comprises a rotatable member 3| which is journaled at its outer ends in end walls 32 with which the pump may be integrally formed. Rigid with the rotatable member is an arm 33 to which lever 22 is connected by a link 34 which extends through an opening 35 in a removable cover 35 with which the reservoir ll may be advantageously provided.

The rotatable member 3! serves as a common operating means for each of the pump pistons IE3 and is preferably journaled in the pump mechani m directly above the pistons. The portion of' the rotatable member between the end walls 32 is provided with a surface 37 eccentric with respect to the axis of rotation thereof and with a surface 33 concentric with the axis of rotation. When the parts are at rest in the position shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, e pistons i B are maintained in engagement with the eccentric surface ill of the rotatable member by coil springs 39 disposed in the p;ston cylinders. Upon operation of the lever 22 by deflection of the rail, the long arm 24 of the lever is moved upwardly thereby causing, through the intermediary of link 34, rotation of member Si in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, and downward movement of the pistons iii.

The eccentric surface 3i of member 32 is so proportioned and of such extent that the rotation imparted to the member by a predetermined minimum of deflection of the rail is sufiicient to cause a maximum displacement of the pistons. Should the rail be deflected more than the predetermined minimum, the member 3| will be rotated a greater amount than necessary to cause maximum displacement of the pistons but such rotation will be ineffective to-displace'the pistons further because the concentric surface as cooperates with the pistons as soon as member St has rotated sufiiciently to cause maximum displacement of the latter.

Although the action of gravity will tend to return the lever 22 and the rotatable member 3i to the positions which they respectively occupy in Figure 3, it is preferred to employ a tension spring 9 for insuring the return of these parts. The spring may be conveniently connected to the outer end of arm'33 and to an apertured lug H which may be formed rigid with the bottom of the reservoir H. To prevent lateral movement of the free end of the long arm 24 of lever 22, suitable guide brackets 24a may be rigidly secured to beam 2|. These guide brackets overlap opposite sides of the lever and are preferably of angle shape. a

In the operation of the device the pump mechanism completes a cycle of operation each time the track rail is displaced and returns to its normal position. As the pump cylinders are normally open to communicate with the reservoir through openings 1 8, the cylinders are usually 4 filled with oil. When the pistons are depressed by the rotatable member 3| the lubricant in the cylinders is forced through check valves l4- and pipe i into the passageways 4 in the plate 3 from which it discharges onto the inner or flange side of the rail head. The passageways are preferably formed in the plate 3 so that lubricant is applied at a plurality of points which are spaced apart a distance equal to the circumference of the average car wheel.

In the event the lubricant becomes too viscous to readily flow through pipes l andpassageways 4 in the event any of these ducts become clogged, the check valves M will automatically open, due to increased pressure on the lubricant, permitting the latter to escape through the openings it back into the reservoir. The relief valves are, of course, adjusted so that they will only function in the event the lubricant is under excessive pressure. Moreover, the openings it! for admitting lubricant into the pump cylinders from the reservoir are preferably of smaller area than the openings between the passageways II and the check valve ports 12 so thatin the event the lubricant becomes so viscous, as may occur in extremely cold weather, that it will not flow through the check valves ports l2, it will in the first instance not flow into the cylinders through openings 18. In this manner the pump mechanism is rendered totally inoperative when the lubricant becomes extremely viscous, thereby pre-' venting damage or injury to the mechanism or associated parts of the device.

In order that lubricant which is not picked up and carried along by the wheel flanges will not be wasted, means is preferably provided for collecting and returning excess lubricant to the reservoir. This means may advantageously comprise a trough 32 which is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the outer face of the discharge plate 3. The trough is preferably provided with a removable cover 43 having a plurality of openings 45 respectively adjacent the discharge ends of the passageways 4. To prevent extraneous matter from entering the trough through the openings M, each of the openings is screened, as indicated at as, and portions of the cover adjacent the openings are flanged upwardly as at it to prevent water which may collect on the cover from entering the trough. It will be readily appreciated that any excess lubricant applied to the rail head will flow back onto the distributing plate and thence downwardly into the trough 42 through openings 44. At one end the trough may be provided with a pipe 47 through which lubricant collected in the trough may be conducted back into the reservoir. Although the trough 62 may extend continuously from one end of the discharge plate 3 to the other, it is preferred to make it in two separate sections, as clearly shown in Figure 2.

Intermediate the reservoir and the beam 28 all of the pipes l and 41 are preferably housed within a flexible conduit 48. One end of the conduit is attached to the upper portion of the reservoir while the other end is attached to a plate 49, secured to beam 26 by bolts e and bridging the space between the outer end portions of upper and lower flanges 5| with which the beam is provided. The pipes I and 41 may conveniently extend longitudinally of the beam 26 within the space defined by the flanges 5! and web 52 thereof until they are substantially opposite the respective parts of the discharge plate 3 and trough it to which they are connected at which points they extend through suitable openings formed in the web of the beam. To prevent possible injury to the pump mechanism and the associated parts of the device from dragging parts of railway vehicles, a cover plate 53 may rest upon and be suitably attached to beams 20 and 2!. Moreover, the ends of the beams and the cover plate are preferably curved downwardly so that any dragging car parts will not catch on ends of the beam or cover plate.

I claim:-

1. A lubricating device for association with a railway track having rails and cross-ties, said device involving a lubricant reservoir, mechanism including a pivoted lever for supplying lubricant from the reservoir to the part to be lubricated, said lever having a portion disposed between two of said cross-ties adapted to coop- 3. A lubricating device for association with a railway track having rails and cross-ties, said device including a beam structure extending transversely of the cross-ties and supported thereby, a lubricant reservoir carried by said beam structure, a pump device for supplying lubricant from the reservoir to the part to be lubricated, and means for operating said pump including a pivoted lever, said lever being cooperable with one of said rails so as to be actuated thereby upon vertical movement of the rail induced by passage of a railway vehicle over the track.

4. A lubricating device for association with a track structure having rails and cross-ties, said device involving a beam structure extending transversely of the cross-ties and supported thereby, a lubricant reservoir carried by said beam structure, means including a pivoted lever for supplying lubricant to the part to be lubricated, said lever being cooperable with one of said rails so as to be actuated thereby upon vertical movement of the rail induced by passage of a railway vehicle over the track, and means rigid with a portion of said beam structure afiording a pivotal support for the lever, the portion of the beam structure provided with said means being spaced from cross-ties adjacent said lever.

5. A lubricating device for association with a railway track structure having rails and crossties, said device involving spaced beams extending transversely of the cross-ties and supported thereby, a lubricant reservoir carried by at least one of the beams, means including a pivoted lever for supplying lubricant to the part to be lubricated, said lever being cooperable with one of said rails so as to be actuated thereby upon vertical movement of the rail induced by passage of a railway vehicle over the track, means rigid with one of said beams affording a pivotal support for the lever, and means rigid with an-- other of said beams for guiding said lever.

6. A lubricating device for association with a railway track, said device including a lubricant reservoir, a mechanism for supplying lubricant from the reservoir to the part to be lubricated, and movable means actuated by the deflection of one of the rails of the track for operating said mechanism, said means being inoperative ,to cause operation of said mechanism after deflection of the rail in excess of a predetermined maximum.

7. A lubricating device for association with a railway track, said device involving a lubricant reservoir, a pump having a piston for supplying lubricant from the reservoir to the part to be lubricated, and means including a lever for operating said piston, said lever being cooperable with one of the rails of the track so as to be actuated thereby upon vertical movement of the rail induced by passage of a railway vehicle over the track, said means being adapted to displace said piston a mximum distance upon a predetermined amount of vertical movement of said rail and being inoperative to cause greater displacement of the piston upon vertical movement of the rail in excess of said predetermined amount.

8. A lubricating device for association with a railway track, said device involving a lubricant reservoir, a pump including a piston for supplying lubricant from the reservoir to the part to be lubricated, and means for operating said pump, said means including a rotatable member cooperable with the piston and a pivoted lever cooperable with one of the rails of the track so as to be actuated thereby upon vertical movement of the rail induced by passage of a railway vehicle over the track, said rotatable member having a surface eccentric with respect to its axis of rotation and a surface concentric with respect thereto, said eccentric surface being cooperable with the piston for a predetermined amount of movement of said lever and said concentric surface being cooperable with the piston upon movement of said lever in excess of said predetermined amount.

LAWRENCE L. MARKEL. 

